Nicoise’s two friends smiled lightly. “Nicoise, that was quick. That girl’s quite cute. Even the playboy couldn’t do it?”
“She’s fine, I guess – a pass. I recall that her family owns a mecha company. That guy at that corner, Wang Zheng, he’s a recipient of this time’s University Science Contribution Award for Physics.”
Nicoise’s two guests were also winners of this time’s Contribution Award, respectively the Biology Award and the Interstellar Network Award. It was obvious that they knew each other. They had similar family backgrounds and socialized in the same circle of friends.
“Wang Zheng… Oh, that student of Xiao Fei?”
“Haha, and I was wondering why you came back so quickly. You have a contender.”
“Him? Are you humiliating me? We’re here because of our own hard work. He depended on his teacher to be here,” Nicoise said with contempt.
“Well, that girl is not bad. There’s a few days to spare; I’ll see if there’s a chance to have a good time.”
“You are interested even in that kind of country bumpkin?”
“She’s still a rich man’s daughter. The quality is there.”
The three of them snickered; their eyes kept shifting to the corner where Wang Zheng was.
Yan Xiaosu lips curled. “Boss, that guy has quite a glib tongue. Why do I feel like he was being sarcastic?”
Wang Zheng laughed. “Who cares? Don’t let others spoil your mood.”
Wang Zheng ate one plate of Roasted Pork Neck happily. It was tender, sweet, and not greasy at all.
“Leave two pieces for my girl, An Mei….”
Yan Xiaosu said.
“Go away, I’m not eating. Wang Zheng, don’t be courteous with this fat guy.”
Yan Xiaosu was shocked. “Fat…Me? How am I fat?”
“You’re going to become as round as a ball!”
Yan Xiaosu was so shocked that he rubbed his belly. Life was so good recently that he was getting plump.
It was actually a happy thing to be able to meet someone from the same hometown at such a far place. However, Nicoise seemed to think too highly of himself. Ye Zisu, Wang Zheng, and their friends did not intend to be any friendlier if he was so cold. To be a diplomat at Roland Garros, Nicoise was definitely an elite of the upper-class. It was no wonder that he looked down on everyone, even Ye Zisu.
Despite the unhappy episode, the food here was indeed delicious. The four people were not petty people, so they enjoyed their dinner.
When night arrived, Roland Garros’ night life started. In reality, even though it was an administrative planet, the entertainment here was of the highest quality. After all, this was where the high-ranking officers of each country gathered. There was nothing lacking here, and the service provided was the best. All that mattered was one’s rank, which determined what one could access.
Xiao Fei arrived back at the villa at the same time as them. She had a smile on her face. The experiment was a success and she had a breakthrough. It was obvious that contacting her friends had a beneficial effect on the communication process with various cooperating parties.
At this moment, the team Ye Zisu brought followed Xiao Fei and reported the situation to her.
“You guys continue talking. We will go upstairs to watch the stars. Just thinking of Roland Garros’ night sky is so romantic.”
Yan Xiaosu pulled An Mei upstairs to enjoy a little private time together. Night time was the best time for couples to cuddle. Obviously, they would not want any third party disturbing them.
On the other hand, it was Wang Zheng who was starting to regret inviting them to this trip. These two people should be locked in a cage for a whole vacation to see if they could still be so lovey-dovey after that.
“Oh, right, there’s a gathering tomorrow night. It’s organized by a few old friends of mine and me. Wang Zheng will have to attend with me. Those attending are authorities in their various fields, and also their students,” Xiao Fei said to Wang Zheng and Ye Zisu.
As she said this, she frowned when she looked at Wang Zheng’s attire. “Zisu, please bring this rascal to shop for an appropriate attire later. I’ll pay for it.”
From Xiao Fei’s tone, this gathering would be quite formal. There should be many renowned scientists attending, and the attendees were not limited to the physics world. When a student won the University Science Contribution Award, authorities from various fields would be present to meet them. This gathering was also the pre-event for the Milky Way Nobel Prize that would be presented three months from now.
“Don’t worry, leave it to me.” Ye Zisu smiled. Wang Zheng stood helpless at a side. He had absolutely no say in this.
Ye Zisu’s excitement in choosing clothes scared Wang Zheng. He was not so devastated even when facing the Zerg Tribe’s army. Ye Zisu could not suppress her laughter. “Look at your miserable face. I will choose the clothes. There! There’s a resting place opposite. I will contact you via Skylink in a while.”
“Zisu, you really are a lifesaver.”
Wang Zheng quickly escaped. After shopping for such a long time, he felt like his IQ had dropped. Even his whole body felt stiff like a robot.
Other than having a mall café, the whole neighbourhood was filled with the usual facilities. There were also some very unique places that he had never seen before in other places.
Of these establishment designs, there was one named “Coffee” that had an entrance that looked strange and old. It was relatively grand. The shop sign had an explicit notice: Gene score below 90 not allowed.
This sign was like a slap to his face.
Did being at Roland Garros give this shop the right to be so demanding? He was determined to take a look.
Wang Zheng pushed Coffee’s door open and saw a screen pop out. There was a string of algorithms. It was a passcode-based entry test.
“Please answer within five minutes. Please enter if your answer is correct. If not, please do leave within three seconds or you will get electrocuted. Thank you for your cooperation.”
Wang Zheng was stunned. My God, such an impressive entrance test! Who was the shop owner?
Moreover, the shop was situated in Roland Garros. Wouldn’t there be a wealthy person or powerful officer who wanted to destroy this shop?
Looking at the hustle and bustle of the passer-bys, there seemed to be no intention of anyone wanting to destroy this shop. Perhaps the people here had a high level of tolerance and good restraint.
However, that did not include him.
Gene score was Wang Zheng’s sore spot. He wanted to represent all of those with a gene score below 90 and prove that they too were capable. At least at this moment, whether one had a gene score of 28 or 88, they were all in the same boat.
It was just a simple problem based on the basic Five Dimensional Numerical Analysis Theory. It required a little mental calculation. Wang Zheng used only 48 seconds.
He entered the answer and the screen disappeared. When the door opened with a squeak, he heard loud sounds of people arguing.
“Old Mu, if I do not destroy you today, I’ll take on your surname!”
“Gail, you already have my surname. Go back and practise again for another 100 years!”
Two silver-haired old men were shouting at each other like a pair of hot-blooded youths. Their hands were also waving in the air… They were playing a game.
This was indeed a special coffee shop. There was no service crew, there were only two old men fighting and more than 10 people watching. None of them were young.
Wang Zheng felt like fainting. Was this place for the elderly to reminisce?
There were strings of formulae on two screens. It was a competition to solve problems. The slower party’s avatar would suffer a hit on the head by the faster person’s avatar. The older you were, the more childish you would be. They were like children, fighting to win. No elder was giving the other a chance.
Seeing how they were so agitated, Wang Zheng was reminded of the Old Merchant and smiled knowingly.
“Ahhhhhhhhh.” With this scream, the old man called Gail had his avatar beaten till it fell.
Gail raised his head and saw a young man in the crowd “laughing” at him.
“Rascal, you, no need to look anymore. Yeah, you there. How did you come in?”
Gail said fiercely.
Those present also turned back only to find out that there was a young man in the room. They were all surprised.
“Sorry, I went the wrong way. I’ll leave now.” Wang Zheng, feeling that the mood was not right, decided not to stay any longer. These people were either of the age of uncles or grandfathers. It was quite pressuring.
“Hold on, where do you think this is? Entering and leaving as you wish!” Gail was obviously looking for a person to take his anger from losing the game.
“Grandpa, are you kidnapping me?” Wang Zheng laughed. This old man looked like Colonel Sanders from Kentucky Fried Chicken when he was angry.
“Grandpa your head! Have you ever seen such a handsome and young Grandpa?” Gail retorted furiously. The crowd erupted into laughter as a result.
That Old Mu laughed until he was breathless. “Haha, young man, you have a good eye. Ignore this old man; he’s always a sore loser. Returning to the topic, did you really solve the problem? The question I set today is quite difficult.”
“Old Mu, what did you set?”
“High Level Milaso’s Numerical Theory with a time limit of five minutes. Let me see… Eh? He solved it in less than one minute.”
At this moment, the whole room fell silent. The group of people looked at Wang Zheng as if he was a monster.
“Yo, looks like he’s here to challenge us,” Old Mu said. This group of people were like zoo keepers. They made Wang Zheng uncomfortable.
“Ahem, gentlemen, I’m just looking for a cup of coffee. I have something going on, I got to go.”
“Haha, young man, there’s coffee here, and it’s free of charge. Since you’re already here, stay.”
“Rascal, are you thinking of leaving? Too bad. In this place, even if it was Ryan, he could not come and go as he wished!”
Gail said arrogantly, his moustache puffed out, looking very majestic.
Wang Zheng quickly assessed Gail’s ability to fight… it should be close to zero… This should not be a kidnapping.
“To be able to solve the question so quickly shows that you have excellent mathematical and mental calculation ability. How about this: we will play one round. If you win, you can leave.”
Old Mu laughed.
“Let me play. I love to beat young people,” Gail said impatiently.
Wang Zheng was speechless. What kind of people were they?
“Young man, this old man is just a little mean with his words. He was addicted to CT recently. Look at him, he is definitely the one getting beaten up. Not only that, people called him a primary school kid every day. Actually, he is an old student. Haha.”
The people surrounding them teased Gail.
Gail, on the other hand, remained calm. He ignored their teasing.
Wang Zheng finally understood. He had met a mischievous old man. Still playing CT at this age? Who else would get beaten?
“I don’t really understand this game,” Wang Zheng said. Looking at them reminded him of Old Merchant. Even the way they spoke was similar. He treated this as spending some time with the elderly.
“It’s very simple. There will be questions appearing non-stop. Whoever solves theirs first, their avatar can hit their opponent’s avatar. You win when your opponent’s avatar falls.”
Old Mu said.
Wang Zheng nodded his head. Gail was excited. It looked like he really did love this game. Gail had already rolled up his sleeves.
“Young man, you are quite brave, eh? Don’t worry, I’m actually very nice; I won’t be so harsh on you.”
Wang Zheng laughed and stood at the opposite side. Once the two were in place, the screen appeared in a flash. At the same time, different categories of problems dropped down on the screen.
There were simple mental calculations and also high level deductive questions. It was okay if you were only slow; however, if you miscalculated, you would not only suffer a hit from your opponent’s avatar, but also get punished.
The audience was all smiling. This Gail was a bit too much to be bullying a young man. However, to be able to compete with Gail was an honor in itself. He would not play with just anybody.
Initially, Gail intended to give Wang Zheng a chance. One minute later, his face darkened. His hands did not stop and his eyes were focused on the screen. He started playing seriously.
Not long after, the audience was all taken aback.